So I started getting CEL's last Sunday. My symptons were that I'd try to start the car and it would take a long time to actually start. It would crank for an additional 3-4 seconds beyond what it normally takes and then start. And when it did start the Check Engine light would come on.

I pulled the code and it was P0335 (crankshaft position sensor). So I scoured around for instructions here and a couple other forums and pieced together what I needed. Note that as all the other threads on this topic mention you need to replace this ASAP when you start getting this error. You run a good possibility of getting stranded on the side of the road. Could be a week, could be a few months, but it will cause you a problem eventually.

I bought the part from autohausaz. That link should take you right to the part. If not just put in your car model and go to Ignition Parts and then select "Crankshaft Position Sensor" (not camshaft) Or, it's part number 0261210170. As of the time of this writing it's $39.

One thing I did different was the actual replacement. All instructions I found said to go in from the top but I just couldn't get my arm down in there and my arms are relatively small.

Instead I did this:

Parts needed:
(1) - E8 Socket (It's a female torx socket)
(1) - 1/4" Ratchet with a movable head. I had one that would move 90 degrees backwards and 90 degrees forwards. Don't waste your time trying to use a ratchet with a fixed head...way more time consuming.
(1) - 1/4" Extension (Not long - maybe 2"?)
(1) - Set of ramps, and a good light.

1.) Drive the car up on ramps. Ideally if you could do this the night before you plan on performing this work and start in the morning you'll be much better off. Or, you can drive it up on the ramps, and then let it cool down for about an hour. Believe me the cat's get very hot very quick.

2.) Roll under the car and look straight up from the drivers side primary cat. You'll see a plug coming out of the bellhousing which lines up approximately with the center of your driver side cylinder head.

3.) Reach up and unplug the sensor. The heat shields around the cat and exhaust will dig in your arm a bit but it's not so bad. The clip is on the top which you'll need to squeeze down and then pull the wire off. Takes a couple minutes because it's hard to grip.

4.) Make sure the ratchet is set to loosen. If you don't you're going to be pissed off when you get the socket set on that little bolt only to find out it goes in the wrong direction. Not that I would have done that or anything...

5.) Loosen the bolt. Once it's loose take the ratchet off and just use your fingers to turn the bolt by spinning the extension. I loosened mine by about 1/4 to 1/2 turn. After that you can use fingers.

6.) Bolt falls out. Now wiggle the sensor out. I had to wiggle it back and forth quite a bit to get it to come out.

7.) Slide the new sensor back in and set the bolt with your fingers.

8.) Put the extension / socket back on the bolt and tighten as much as you can with your fingers.

9.) Now put the ratchet on. I found it easier to slide the entire ratchet/extension/socket up all at once rather than mounting the socket/extension and then trying to get the ratchet attached. At this point it should only take maybe 1/2" turn or so until it's really snug.

10.) Snap the wire back on the sensor.


That's it, you don't have to remove anything. And for me I had much more room to work from the bottom than trying to go in the top. I wasted about as much time trying to reach the sensor by going behind the air box as I did doing the entire job from below. I'd say doing it this method once I had the right tools it was maybe 90 minutes of actual work. Probably less.

Hopefully somebody else will find this useful.

Rich

 

Thanks! Great write-up!

 

I used a flexible extension to get at it from the top. I don't remember if I removed any thing. I was able to do it in the dark in less than an hour, but the thing is that I spent about 5 hours using conventional methods to get at it. So I pretty much had the part memorized by the time I bought a flexible extension.

I tried going at it from the bottom, but I wasn't able to reach far enough up to get a good grip on the cps. I also did not have it lifted, I was just under the car laying on my back. So you're way could be easier if I had ramps or a lift.

 

Thanks for the detailed instructions on this, I am getting this fault after last week replacing a water pump that failed & shredded serpentine belt. After replacing water pump, I used a lot of degreaser and a lot of water, based on what you experienced would a lot of water been likely to short this in its position? Thanks for any insight!

 

My C55 stalled on the highway when I was coming back from work recently. I pulled off to the shoulder, plugged my bluetooth code reader in, read the code. CPS failure. Then, I waited for 15 minutes for the CPS to cool down, restarted the car and made it home without another stall. Been driving the 300E to work since then while I waited for parts. Part arrived this week, so I tried replacing it today.

I followed your instructions, but simply could not get the E8 socket I have to seat onto the torx screw and turn the ratchet. When I tried doing it from below, I put the car on ramps, removed the belly pans, etc. I can't see the sensor or plug from below, but was able to locate them by hand.

I did get the plug off the sensor, but it is such a tight squeeze to get my hand with a ratchet into that space. By the time I have the socket even remotely near the torx bolt there is no room to even move the ratchet.

So then I tried going from above, removed the airbox, MAF, breather hose going to the MAF and 1 other thin tube that has a quick disconnect feature from the throttle body. Still no luck. I cant seem to be able to find any position where the ratchet can connect to the torx bolt head and still have room for me to start applying pressure on it.

This CPS sensor is solely making me regret buying a small C class with a giant V8 shoehorned in it. One f**king bolt.

I am using a 1/4" ratchet with a flexible head, a 3/8" E8 torx socket.
There is just no room anywhere to get a grip on the ratchet. My hand just gets wedged between the block and firewall or bell housing and firewall every time I try to get at it.



I just ordered a 1/4" E8 torx (an entire set) to see if that will help anything. If not, I am just gonna give it up entirely. Piece the car back together and cart it over to a shop to get it done. This 90 minute job has been a 4 hour waste of time so far.


I have no idea how the hell anyone else is able to get this thing swapped out without ripping the car to pieces. Any idea what I am doing wrong? Are we sure the bolt is an E8 torx?

 

Did you notice your CPS was slowly getting longer to crank or was it a sudden onset?

 

My problem was sudden, running 100% perfect... then dead engine while in stop and go traffic on the highway.

 

You need to get a long flexible extension, and unfortunately, you do need the 1/4" E8 socket. The problem is the location of the bolt doesn't allow a 3/8" E8 to get a good grip on it. Once you get the flex extension, it will be a breeze and you will have it done in 15 minutes.

Damian

 

My car will not start. I put in a new battery and car will not start. I am not getting a CEL.

Can the CPS be bad and not show a CEL?

Thanks

 

Thanks for the instructions. The normal w203 CPS replacement instructions are not ideal for the c32. The charge pipes and manifold leave very little room to work from the top. I'm a small guy with small hands and could not fit anything in from above to do the replacement.

Going from the bottom was the only way to do this.

Thanks again for the instructions, they were invaluable. This took me about 1 to 1.5 hours to do. A miniature pry bar about 5" long was invaluable and was about the only way I could get the old CPS to budge. There was simply no room to get a good grip and pull on the sensor.

 

Sorry to bring up old thread but I look up CPS for 2002 C32 and I don't get a link to crankshaft position sensor I only get camshaft position/reference mark sensor but when I put 2003 the crankshaft position sensor is shown. I called local dealer and they give me OEM part and price for my 2002 as though there is one but looking thru Autohauz website it don't show it. But google search of OEM Bosch part show

Part Number

0261210170


Bosch OEM
Crankshaft Position Sensor

as correct one....so does a 2002C32 have the same one?

 

Hey Vic, it's been a long time since we've chatted.

In January of last year, I bought the CPS (crank, not cam) from Autohauz for about $50. A indy friend of mine installed it for $100. I know some guys say it is a DIY but, after watching the tech install mine, it was $100 well spent.

Sorry if I can't recall the part number. I do know it worked fine though.

 

Nice to see this is still getting referenced.

Wish I could answer the question about the CPS part number. As far as I know the 2002 and 2003 would be identical so you should be able to use part numbers from the 2003. I know others with 2002 models have replaced theirs so maybe they can chime in?

And it is a bit of a pain to replace but if you have a free day with decent weather it's not too bad.

 

Crazy. This is like a 5 minute job on my C43 or C55!

 

Hello. This is my first post to the group. I have gotten great information from this and other groups over the years, so I decided to share my recent experience with the C55 crank sensor.

The failure symptoms were consistent with other posts including check engine light with the appropriate code as well as failure to start when hot.

The job took me about 2 hrs, but I typically work very slowly and methodically through these types of projects. I removed the airbox and completed the job from the top. I had to loosen some of the wiring around the area to help gain access. This involved cutting 4 zip ties. These were easily replaced at the end of the job.

Other posts stressed the need to use a 1/4" drive with flexible extension-I agree. the E8 torx was tight, but it did not take too much force to finally break it free.
When installing the new sensor, I placed some tape on the torx bolt to keep it attached to the sensor. Only time will tell, but so far the car runs great.

 

Props to the original poster for the details on this, and for the record, I went through the top to replace mine as well. I used a remote camera, which helped a lot, and I'm not sure it would have been as easy without using a camera. $70 bucks, harbor freight for the camera.

One note - be careful when replacing with a non Bosch or MBZ part. I originally grabbed a part from a local auto parts store for 60 bucks and the car ran SIGNIFICANTLY worse. It would die on hard acceleration and after getting hot, it wouldn't start at all. I started thinking it was the fuel pump, but after reading that somebody replaced their CPS twice and it worked the second time, I thought I'd give replacing it a second time it a try.

I ordered a new part from Amazon for $40 the second time around, and it was a Bosch part (not MBZ) with several posts claiming success. I managed to replace this one in under an hour this time (about 2 hours first time around), and the car runs perfectly normal now.

I'm not sure why the part manufacturer would make a big difference, but it apparently does. My Bosch replacement part is P/N# 0261210170 and the OEM part was P/N# 0261210171. I was worried it wouldn't work because of the 1 digit difference in part number, but it works perfectly.

Hopefully this saves somebody else some hassle and worry about it being a fuel pump issue. I started researching that, and it looks like an expensive nightmare if you have to do it.

 

Just changed mine with 2 ppl was quick I went from the bottom and my bro want from top
But I did not disconnect the sensor so after I in screwed the sensor we just pulled it up by the wire verry easy after I went and bought the right tools
2002 c32 amg
Stock

 

Reviving this old thread... I can't believe how big of a pain in the *** this job is. I somehow removed the bolt that holds the sensor in, but still have almost no room at all to grab the sensor, let alone pull it out. I don't have access the WIS anymore... does anyone know the official procedure? It looks much easier with a non-AMG W203 since you have more space behind the engine to use your left hand. What am I missing? I've removed the intake completely and I've been fumbling for HOURS trying to pull out the sensor but can't get my thumb on it. I've tried working from above and below and neither allows me enough access. Any tips?

Edit: I somehow managed to get it out. I used long, curved-tip needle nose pliers from the top, grabbed the sensor, and twisted it out while pulling and clamping on the pliers. Not a fun job at all.

 

Same here, but luckily not in traffic. I parked the car in my driveway and a few hours later it refused to start. I rolled the car back at bit in neutral, then let it sit overnight. It cranked the next day and drove fine. The following morning it completely failed w/ a code. A friend towed it to my mechanic a few days later. He charged me around $80-90 for the install of the new part. It’s a bit of a pain to swap on these models and you need the right tools.

I never experienced this type of failure on any of my prior MB’s, but my C32 is the first experience with a 203. I recommend replacing if there is any uncertainty about the age of your CPS. Simply worth the peace of mind and be sure to replace with a genuine part. I’m very thankful it failed in my driveway. My car had around 67k at the time.